El Dorado County History
Historical Souvenir of El Dorado County California with Illustrations
and Biographical Sketches of its Prominentmen and Pioneers.
Oakland 1883. Paolo Sioli, Publisher. Compiled by P. Sioli.
Transcribed by Peggy Hooper, Oct 2009.
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LOCAL HISTORY.
MURDERER'S BAR.
The derivation of this name as told by Mr. D. Fairchild, an old pioneer of 1849, and for years a resident
of this county, which he only left to take charge of the Oroville Mercury, Butte county, is showing a true
picture of early mining events : "Among the pioneers of 1848, was Thomas M. Buckner, now a resident
of Spanish Dry Diggings, El Dorado county, who emigrated to Oregon from Kentucky, in 1845. When
the news of the discovery of gold in California reached Oregon, several parties were immediately fitted out
with the purpose to start for the gold-fields. Buckner was a member of one of these companies, numbering
sixty-two young men, who made the overland trip to California, under the leadership of Captain Martin,
and after some adventures of lesser importance arrived at Sutter's fort, on August 2d, 1848. While
stopping at the fort for a few days, a party of sailors arrived from the mines with a considerable quantity
of gold dust, and informed Mr. J. D. Hoppe, who was also there, and with whom they were acquainted,
where they had obtained it, and of the probability of there being much more in the vicinity. Mr. Hoppe
immediately engaged a party of seven men, Buckner being one, to go with him to the , Sailors Diggings."
Having obtained unmistakable directions as to the route and distance, they left the fort about the 10th, of
August In those days there were circuitous trails, for though the objective point of the party, afterwards
proved to be the place, called the following year "Rector's Bar," after an Oregonian of that name, on
the Middle Fork of the American river. They proceeded to Sutter's mill thence northerly to Long valley
(now Greenwood), over the ridge by Spanish Dry Diggings and down into the canyon of the Middle
fork to what was afterwards named 'Spanish Bar,' across the river and up the hill to the top of the ridge,
where they traveled on the trail, made by the sailors, to the place now known as Bird's valley, and fixed
their camp there. From here they went down into the canyon of the river, in the morning, working during
the day in the crevices and returning to camp on the ridge at night The only tools used by these
primitive miners were butcher knives, iron spoons and occasionally a small steel bar, and a pan, as they were
seeking for gold only upon and in the crevices of the bed-rock which the high waters of years had flowed
over and denuded of all loose material. The gold was coarse, and while some of the crevices would yield
many pounds of gold, others contained nothing, this rendered the success of the party variable, and though
generally lucky, when provisions began to get scarce, towards the rainy season, a separation took place;
Buckner with two others, started unknown with the route, hoping to reach Johnson's ranch on Bear river.
In this, however, they were disappointed, for the first evidences of civilization they struck were upon their
arrival at Sinclair's ranch, opposite Sutter's fort.
"Knowing nothing about dry or ravine diggings, and believing the tales of trappers and others, that it
would be impossible to winter at the mines along the rivers, Buckner went to San Francisco and thence to
the redwoods, known as San Antonio, in the hills back of the present site of Oakland, where "Redwood-peak
is, here he found employment making shakes, pickets, whip-saw lumber etc., At that time these redwoods
contained scores of men of various nationalities and professions ; runaway sailors, beach combers, lawyers,
doctors, etc., all similarily occupied for present necessity.
" Among these homogeneous spirits who were temporarily inhabiting the redwoods was Capt. Ezekiel
Merritt, who had been a conspicuous character in the formation of the " Bear flag " party at Sonoma in
1846; during the winter an intimate friendship sprang up between Buckner and Merritt, and they
determined to blend their fortunes in a venture to the mines, as soon as the proper season should
arrive. Accordingly the two, accompanied by an Indian boy called Peg, whom Merritt had retained
for a number of years as a servant, in April, 1849, left the redwoods and went overland to Knight's
ranch, on Cache creek; Knight and Gordon, both old settlers in that section, were old acquaintances and
friends of Merritt.
" Upon learning the destination of his friend, Mr. Knight, with the hospitality then so characteristic
of the old California rancheros, insisted upon killing a number of bullocks and jerking the meat, that the
Captain and his companions might be provided with a sufficient quantity of came seca, to ward off the
chances of starvation, while pursuing their search of digging in an unknown region. Having prepared
an ample supply of meat, Mr. Knight's generosity did not stop there, he loaded it upon one of his
carts and sent it to the embarcadero, at Sacramento, so that the horses of the prospectors might be fresher
for their mountain journey. At the time, a surveying party under Lieut. Warner, of the U. S. A., were laying
out the streets of the future city of Sacramento.
"Meritt and Buckner, assisted by Peg, packed up their animals, and first went to Weber creek, but did
not like the outlook there, and advancing in a northerly direction, crossed the South Fork of the American,
a few miles below Sutter's mill ; traveled across the divide, and descended into the canyon of the
Middle Fork, reaching the stream at a place where there was quite a fall, caused by an avalanche, years
before, which had changed the bed of the river.
"The month of April was not yet gone, there were no evidences of any work having been done by white
men, but while traveling, the little party had observed signs of Indians, and, deeming any they would there
meet would be hostile, on account of their small number a sharp lookout was kept. They remained
near the falls a day or two, endeavoring to get to the bottom of the deep hole which was just below them,
where the crude gold diggers imagined all of the large junks should be, if there were any at all in the
locality ; but not succeeding, they broke camp and started down the stream. Captain Merritt, as an ex-
perienced frontiersman took the lead. They had proceeded but a short distance, when they reached the
head of a large bar, situated upon the South side of the river, and below them, some distance down the
bar was a jutting point of rocks, beyond which they could not see. The captain was a nervous, excitable
man, and when excited stuttered badly. When a few yards down the bar, he suddenly stopped short,
bringing the train to a halt, and exclaimed : 'B-b-by G-g-god, he-he-r's wh-white ma- man's ha-ha-r ! Ye-
yes, a-and Injuns' ha-har, too!' And sure enough, so it was ; there upon the pebbly bar above high
water mark, among evidences of a plundered camp, was the white man's hair, strewn around with that of
the Indian, silent evidence that the life of the superior race had not gone out to the great unknown un-
avenged and without a struggle. No bodies were found, but an ash heap close by, in which were calcined
bones, told the story of the white and red man together.
"Upon this discovery, the point of rocks ahead became a barrier post, beyond which the white men
dared not go for fear of an ambuscade, and accordingly they retraced their steps to the head of the bar,
where a large, smooth, deep stretch of water occurred above the ripple, while a small, low bar showed it-
self upon the northern side. At the extreme head of the bar, where they had found the evidences of death,
they unpacked their animals in an open space of ground, and prepared for an attack. They remained
in this position until the following morning, and no Indians coming to molest them, nor none being seen,
Captain Merritt armed the boy Peg, and sent him around the point of rocks to reconnoiter. He
returned, and reported signs, but no Indians in sight. Thereupon all three, with arms in readiness in case of
necessity, sallied forth for further explorations down the river. Scarcely had they passed the point, before
some sixty or seventy Indians appeared upon the bench or higher bar, above them, yelling and gesticulating
in a frightful manner, but as they were only armed with bows and arrows, dared not attack.
Now that the enemy were in sight all fear of ambush passed away, and with ' Rachel,' as Merritt called
his old-fashioned rifle, poised for business, the white men watched the yelping savages until the latter
apparently became convinced that they could do no harm to the former, and in the course of a few hours,
retreated upon the mountain and disappeared from view.
" Upon the river bar that the whites thus were left the masters of were fine groves of willows, some ash
trees, and many smooth-barked, thrifty alders, and while there it occurred to Buckner, that, as the bars
along the South Fork and other streams to the southward, were all designated with names, he would also
name the one they were then occupying. He accordingly took his pocket knife and cut upon the smooth
and easily slipped bark of an alder tree,
"MURDERER'S BAR''
By which the spot has ever since been known. But Merritt and Buckner did not deem it prudent to
remain there. They preferred to camp in some more open spot less liable to be approached by the Indians
under cover, and crossing the river in a dug-out canoe, they established themselves with animals and
paraphernalia upon the Placer county side of the Middle Fork at Buckner's Bar, with the river between
themselves and their dangerous foe. Who the men killed were, has never been satisfactorily determined.
They probably met their fate late in the fall of 1848; and Mr. Buckner is of the opinion that there were three
of them, two of them Wood and Graham, who came into the country with him in Capt. Martin's party of
Oregonians."
There were some companies of miners working on this bar in the summer of 1849, but most of them left
on account of the commencing raining season, only five men built cabins on the bank, as they thought
sufficiently high up to be out of the reach of the high water; but were surprised by the rising of the water
on January 9th, 1850, which drove them as fast as they were able higher up on the hill, without giving
them time to save anything out of the cabins, the waters of the river, rising sixty feet in one day, took
away all their property.
In 1850, the miners of Murderer's Bar, for the purpose of working on a large fluming process,
consolidated with the miners of New York Bar, Vermont, Buckner's Bar and Sailors claim, to join
flumes and work all together on shares: Stephen Tyler and Lefingwell, of Murderer's Bar, took the
contract to build the flume of twelve feet wide by three feet high, and over a mile in length, and a
very busy time began in the canyon of the Middle Fork of the American river. There were not less
than six hundred men engaged in different kinds of work on those five river bars, including the
construction, etc., of the big flume, and about one half of them accounted for Murderer's Bar. A
ferry had been built the same year and the roads to make the ferry useful led up through Cave
valley towards Pilot Hill, and on the Placer county side towards Yankee Jim's, becoming quite a
traveled road from Sacramento to all the mining camps in this part of Placer county.
The miners cabins built up quite a little village in 1850; only five men had decided to remain on the bar
the fall before. The first stores in the village were kept by E. C. Cromwell, from Michigan, and Moss,
from St. Joseph, Missouri. Some difficulties about a mining claim between one Beck and one Walker, in
1850, led to an earnest hostility and ended in the murder of Beck, who was shot by Walker with a shot-
gun across the river, Walker was on the El Dorado county side, while Beck stood on Placer county side.
The first white woman in the village was Mrs. A. Harris, now of Greenwood Township, El Dorado county.
The population of Murderer's Bar was growing constantly ; in 1855 the town had over five hundred
inhabitants, and always represented one of the liveliest mining camps up to the year of 1858 or 1860. Lee
and Marshall's National circus made an excursion down into the canyon once, and gave exhibitions here and
at Rattlesnake Bar. The gold found at this and the neighboring bars was all fine scale gold of very rich
quality ; never was any large pieces found. Of first settlers at Murderer's Bar may be mentioned ; E. C.
Cr?mwell ; Jim Stewart ; Geo. Melville ; Col. Potter; Wm. Harris who discovered the back part of it ; Phil.
Herbert; Judge Hammond; Kerup Anderson; Burton Bros. Walker Bros. Jim Beckwoulth and
Shabanau ; Geo. Schofield ; Col. Kipp ; Hugh J. Glenn, late of Colusa county. Jno. Percival, known
as "Cranky Jack ;" Dave Helmes; Clerk Helmes and two others died violent death's here. C. Cooledge,
kept store and hotel at this Bar up to 1854 or 1855